Happily by Chauncey Rogers – Book Review #UltimateReadingChallenge April

On By MischenkoIn Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Reads, Young Adult

I had the pleasure of reading Happily by Chauncey Rogers and finished it this morning. I was truly charmed by this retelling! You can read my book review below.

Happily

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Blurb from Goodreads:
If the shoe fits, wear it.
If it doesn’t, make it.

Laure is a teenage street urchin just trying to get away. Where the rest of the world sees an enchanting love story, Laure sees royal incompetence and an opportunity to exploit it. She’ll have wealth and a way out of a life she detests, if she can only manage to hoodwink the royal family and survive to tell the tale.

My thoughts on this book:

Happily by Chauncey Rogers is a retelling of Cinderella, but totally unique and refreshing with an interesting premise! I sort of cherish retellings and couldn’t wait to see how Happily compared to some of the others I’ve read. As soon as I saw it, I instantly fell for the cover too! I had no idea what to expect, but rather than following the story of Cinderella and her wicked step-sisters, it follows what’s happening on the outside with Laure, the female protagonist. Laure is hard-headed, sort of pessimistic and chooses to live differently than a commoner while despising royalty as well. She’s a street urchin, and because she refuses to work, Laure barely makes ends meet by stealing the foods and necessities she needs to survive. With good reason (due to her past) she hates where she lives, Éclatant, and would love nothing more than to leave it all behind forever. During one of her thefts, she ends up causing problems for a boy named Luc and he simply won’t stand for it. He threatens to turn her in for her crime, until she shares her plans to trick the royals and in turn promises to pay him back. They both set out on an exciting, yet often dangerous journey filled with adventure.

I was genuinely connected with all the characters in the book. Laure is a very strong main character and I admired how she evolved throughout the story as she learned many lessons about honesty, love, and friendship. She’s headstrong and stubborn–nearly the opposite of Luc– but even so, she wants to do what’s right and they still had some similarities too. Luc is the type of person that wants to have a positive perspective in all situations. He’s optimistic and wants to help Laure see the good in people, and in life. With their likes and differences, they were nearly perfect medicine for one another. Prince Carl was everything I wanted him to be and truly, all the characters were great and meshed together well. Derived from the characters, one of my favorite morals in the story was to be yourself and to stand up for what you believe in.

I was pleased with the writing and the pacing was spot on which kept me interested throughout. It’s modern and without too much romance which I think makes it appealing to younger readers. The twists kept me guessing and the story wasn’t predictable. I felt like the narrative consistently took the direction I wanted it to. With that said, the ending felt a tad rushed, but with some wonderful surprises which the author tied up well. I can see this easily adapted into a movie as it’s remarkably different and stands out from others! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys retellings or those looking for a magnificent story.

I’d like to thank Chauncey Rogers for bringing this book to my attention and sharing it with me.

My rating: 5 stars

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Find this book on Goodreads and Amazon:
  • Paperback: 314 pages
  • Publisher: Independently published (February 14, 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1980284911
  • ISBN-13: 978-1980284918

About the author:

Chauncey Rogers

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Chauncey Rogers was born in Arizona, and since then has hopped back and forth between the mid-western and western United States. He married in 2012 while attending school in Utah. His favorite movie since he was three is Jurassic Park, and he wishes very badly that Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster were real, though he doesn’t believe in them as much as he used to. – Amazon

Find him @ Amazon | Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Genre
Horror, Science Fiction, Fiction

Other books by Chauncey Rogers:

This is my ‘April: Single Word Title’ book for The Ultimate Reading Challenge.

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Thanks for checking out my review of Happily. Have you read this book? Do you like retellings? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

29 thoughts on “Happily by Chauncey Rogers – Book Review #UltimateReadingChallenge April”

  1. Pingback: Reading Challenges 2018 – Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge #NGEW2018 and Ultimate Reading Challenge #UltimateReadingChallenge – ReadRantRock&Roll

  8. I don’t know if I can say that I enjoy retellings as a genre but I have enjoyed some books that were retellings of fairy tales and/or other literary works. I usually admire an author taking someone’s else story and reinventing it but also keeping it familiar.
    Happy May!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Definitely! This one is very different and authors never cease to amaze me with their imaginations and writing. I was pleasantly surprised. Happy May to you as well. 💜 Thanks for your thoughts!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. Pingback: The Liebster Award: Discovering New Blogs – Whit Reads Lit

  14. Hello,

    I saw that you are a book blogger. I recently released a new book “Life of Randy”

    I would love to send you a free copy in your preferred format to review on your blog.

    Thank you for your time

    Philip Lister

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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